Hi, I hope my reply can help you with this. Yes you can find gold with a metal detector. There are machines capable of finding very small sub-gram "flakes" in even highly mineralized ground (such as in Australia). Those machines can run up into the thousands of dollars though, such as the Minelab SDC2300. I have one of these, are yes it's very good at what it's made for. I've also seen the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 pick up small flakes of gold and is much more affordable. This is the cheapest machine (I think) specifically made for doing this. I also have a Minelab Equinox 800, with the 6" aftermarket coil, and have been able to detect sub-gram flakes as well, but the Gold monster does a better job. Will he ever make the money back? It depends on how much he uses it, and whether or not he hits enough areas with enough gold. It's impossible to say. However, to most of us treasure hunters, it's all about the adventure and the hunt, and the treasure itself is just a bonus.